The newest term of Seekers Guidance is underway. Registration is still open, but probably not for long, so register now! Remember that you (courses are open to anyone, not only Muslims) can take up to three courses for free and you can ask the teacher as many questions as you want! I am taking this course; it is really good so far:

This course will introduce students to the four gospels found in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and provide them with new insights and a more nuanced understanding of who Jesus (peace be upon him) was for the objective of calling others to the truth of Islam.

There’s lots of stuff I need to do to the blog. I also want to add more links but am having trouble with the widgets and all. As for us, we are fine here. Mini-Chef is 13 months now, and I’ve recently finished a couple articles.

It’s a collection of talks by Cambridge professor Tim Winter, a.k.a. Shaykh Abdul-Hakim Murad. There are A LOT of nice talks on there, but for now I’ll just link two that answer a few frequently-asked questions about the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam.

It has been reported that a prominent Christian leader, Pat Robertson, has said that Haiti has been “cursed” by a “pact with the devil.” Fortunately, this is not the mainstream Christian position and my friend, the Reverend Paul Raushenbush, has rejected Robertson’s “blaming the victims” theology. Religious leaders must take a stance against extremist voices in their community, and I am glad to see Rev. Raushenbush respond to Robertson’s ridiculous and offensive suggestions.
As Muslims, we believe that human suffering is not always explainable or understandable. We do know that innocent people suffer all the time, from sickness and natural disaster, and that in such cases, we are required to do two things: First, pray and remember, as the Qur’an says that “to God we belong and to Him we return.” Second, we must help those who are suffering. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, reported in a Sacred Hadith that if we want to be close to God, we should visit the sick and feed the needy. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will say, “O son of Adam, I fell ill and you did not visit me.” The person will say, “O Lord, how could I visit you when You are the Lord of the worlds?” He will say, “Did you not know that So-and-so fell ill and you did not visit him? If you had visited him, you would have found Me with him [the hadith continues].”

We realize from this hadith that the path to closeness with God is, after worship, service to humanity. Perhaps the most needy collectivity of people in the world today are the Haitians after enduring this terrible earthquake. Helping the Haitians in this time of need is certainly a sign of religious sincerity.